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There are enough posts in this forum about Roger Federer and RG 2019 but I couldn't help creating one myself. Sorry about that!
Almost three or four days back, I was of the opinion that Roger Federer should skip clay entirely. I thought he could make maximum fourth round in RG and he could never win a clay masters 1000 too. I expected him to be beaten badly by Dominic Thiem. Since Roger has a great serve, I never expected bakery products. I thought Roger will not win more than four games in a set. As they say what happened is history. He had even two match points, though not even one in his serve. Even in the third set, after going a break down against probably the hottest player on clay at the moment, he fought back and got back on serve.
After this performance, it would be intellectual dishonesty to write him off completely. I consider him as the fourth favorite at RG, after Rafa/Novak/Thiem. I really believe and hope that Roger plays both Rome and RG. If he plays like how he played yesterday he has a very good chance to reach SF (if he can avoid Thiem in QF) If Roger plays well, I firmly believe that he can take out anyone on clay except these three on a a good day.
That said, I don't intend to say that he is a lock to beat any other player except these three. We didn't expect him to lose to Kevin Anderson at Wimbledon or John Millman at US Open or Stefana Tsitsipas at AO, did we? Upsets are part of the game. At his age, sorry to broach about it, and in his worst playing surface he is prone to more upsets than on the other surfaces. It's natural and expected. But there is no point in avoiding battles. You can get glory only by taking these risks.
When Roger Federer won Wimbledon 2017, many posters said skipping clay helped. When Roger Federer lost in Wimbledon 2018, many posters said skipping clay backfired. I don't know what is true or whether there is any correlation between both. However I know one thing that there is no guarantee that Roger Federer will win Wimbledon 2019, if he skips clay season in 2019. So why not play clay?
Also, this is highly subjective, the artistry of Roger Federer was best expressed on natural surfaces than on hard courts. So a part of me was always missing him play on clay. Though I never complained since we Maestro fans were happy to see him win Wimbledon 2017!
Allez Roger Federer! Please play both Rome and RG
Almost three or four days back, I was of the opinion that Roger Federer should skip clay entirely. I thought he could make maximum fourth round in RG and he could never win a clay masters 1000 too. I expected him to be beaten badly by Dominic Thiem. Since Roger has a great serve, I never expected bakery products. I thought Roger will not win more than four games in a set. As they say what happened is history. He had even two match points, though not even one in his serve. Even in the third set, after going a break down against probably the hottest player on clay at the moment, he fought back and got back on serve.
After this performance, it would be intellectual dishonesty to write him off completely. I consider him as the fourth favorite at RG, after Rafa/Novak/Thiem. I really believe and hope that Roger plays both Rome and RG. If he plays like how he played yesterday he has a very good chance to reach SF (if he can avoid Thiem in QF) If Roger plays well, I firmly believe that he can take out anyone on clay except these three on a a good day.
That said, I don't intend to say that he is a lock to beat any other player except these three. We didn't expect him to lose to Kevin Anderson at Wimbledon or John Millman at US Open or Stefana Tsitsipas at AO, did we? Upsets are part of the game. At his age, sorry to broach about it, and in his worst playing surface he is prone to more upsets than on the other surfaces. It's natural and expected. But there is no point in avoiding battles. You can get glory only by taking these risks.
When Roger Federer won Wimbledon 2017, many posters said skipping clay helped. When Roger Federer lost in Wimbledon 2018, many posters said skipping clay backfired. I don't know what is true or whether there is any correlation between both. However I know one thing that there is no guarantee that Roger Federer will win Wimbledon 2019, if he skips clay season in 2019. So why not play clay?
Also, this is highly subjective, the artistry of Roger Federer was best expressed on natural surfaces than on hard courts. So a part of me was always missing him play on clay. Though I never complained since we Maestro fans were happy to see him win Wimbledon 2017!
Allez Roger Federer! Please play both Rome and RG